Fishermen aboard vessels with an Atlantic tunas General or Atlantic Highly Migratory Species (HMS) Charter/Headboat permit may not retain, possess, or land large medium or giant Atlantic bluefin tuna after 11:30 p.m., December 14, 2020, and through December 31, 2020.
How long is the closure in effect?
The General category bluefin tuna fishery will reopen on January 1, 2021 with the default daily retention limit of one fish per trip/vessel.
Why is the fishery closing?
Based on the best available landings information, the 28.9-mt quota for the December time period has been reached and exceeded.
Who is affected?
This action applies to all vessels permitted in the Atlantic Tunas General category and Atlantic HMS Charter/Headboat category (with a commercial sale endorsement when fishing commercially for bluefin tuna).
Reporting
Atlantic tunas General, Harpoon, and HMS Charter/Headboat category vessel owners are required to report all bluefin tuna retained or discarded dead within 24 hours of the landing(s) or end of each trip by:
- Accessing the HMS Permit Shop.
- Using the HMS Catch Reporting app.
- Calling 888-872-8862 (Monday through Friday from 8 a.m. until 4:30 p.m.)
This notice is a courtesy to fishery permit holders to help keep you informed about the fishery. Official notice of Federal fishery actions is made through filing such notice with the Office of the Federal Register.
Click here to view the Federal Register Notice.
